Daniel Hillier birdied five holes without dropping a shot at Yas Links, moving to eight under and a share of 12th at the halfway mark of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
Daniel Hillier closed with a birdie at the 18th for a five-under 67 on Friday in Abu Dhabi, leaving the New Zealander four shots behind a three-way lead heading into the weekend.
Hillier had to recover from an opening bogey on Thursday to shoot 69. His second round started more smoothly, with a birdie at the par-five second and back-to-back gains at the sixth and seventh taking him out in 33.
He picked up another shot at the 12th and finished with a birdie at the par-five last for the second day running.
That took Hillier to 136 through 36 holes. The sole New Zealander in the field, he sits a shot outside the top 10 in the first of the two season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Three Share The Lead
Tyrrell Hatton shot a seven-under 65 and Jon Rahm signed for a 67 to catch overnight leader Francesco Laporta at 12 under. The Italian followed his opening 62 with a 70, leaving all three on 132.
Rory McIlroy made up seven shots on Laporta with a nine-under 63 and is now just one back. He shares fourth with Adrian Meronk, Sam Bairstow and Matthew Jordan.
McIlroy began the week third in the Race to Dubai and has opened an eight-shot gap over season leader Eugenio Chacarra, who reached the halfway mark at three under.
A Saturday-Night Start For Kiwi Fans
Hillier will start his third round from the first tee at 8.06pm NZDT on Saturday 7 November (11.06am in Abu Dhabi), alongside England’s Nathan Kimsey and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson.
With no halfway cut at Yas Links, all 70 players are scheduled to play the third round.
PGA Tour Card In Sight
Hillier arrived seventh in the Race to Dubai and fourth among the eligible players in line for a 2027 PGA Tour card. The DP World Tour had him projected to remain seventh overall after round two.
That projection moves with the tournament leaderboard, and PGA Tour cards go to the 10 highest-ranked eligible players in the final season standings.
The top 50 available players after Abu Dhabi advance to next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where the season standings will be settled.
For Hillier, the immediate target is the group at 12 under. Another round in the 60s on Saturday would give him a chance to close that four-shot gap before Sunday.
| Player | Position | Overall | Round 1 | Round 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrrell Hatton | T1 | −12 | 67 | 65 |
| Jon Rahm | T1 | −12 | 65 | 67 |
| Francesco Laporta | T1 | −12 | 62 | 70 |
| Rory McIlroy | T4 | −11 | 70 | 63 |
| Daniel Hillier | T12 | −8 | 69 | 67 |
